It is the face.

His flat, sunken face and eyes so droopy they present a constant tiredness in them.  His long nose, overgrown and distracting, and the lack of space between his eyebrows and eyes. One stops right where the next starts. His forehead laden in black tufts reminiscent of talons, his cheekbones that go on for ages, his lips practically at chin level. Minseok can’t understand. He is so unattractive, yet Junmyeon looks upon him like he is radiance itself.

“There are so many things that could go wrong Yixing. The Elders are persuasive, Baekhyun is already disliked by half the council, they could get a majority for that alone, and there’s still-” Minseok clenches his fist as Yixing presses a tender kiss upon Junmyeon’s nose.

“Your skin gets ruddy when you worry too much. It’s quite distracting.” Yixing chuckles at the put out smile he receives. Minseok sneers. How about you cover your eyes and clean your ears so you can listen better?

Junmyeon sighs, presses his forehead into Yixing’s neck. It smells like tree bark and wet grass. He likes to think the wetness is from him. The thought charms a smile from Junmyeon. He tilts his neck up, worries shining alongside hope in the brown iris’. Yixing tucks his chin down and touches his nose against Junmyeon’s forehead. Minseok shifts from his corner, training his glare on the hands working their way around Junmyeon’s waist.

“I can’t see the future, I’m afraid that skill lies with Zitao,” Junmyeon wrinkles his nose affectionately, “but I have faith. I know everything will work out the way it should.” Yixing starts to lean down further, and Minseok has had enough. He advances towards them, Yixing catching his stare just before his lips meet Junmyeon’s. He smiles, biting his tongue and readying a greeting. Upon reaching them, Minseok grabs Junmyeon by the bicep and drags him away. A gruff “the hearing’s starting” his only explanation to Junmyeon’s complaints and protests.

Yixing watches them leave through large peach wood doors. He sighs, lips falling into a frown and fingers raking through his hair. Yixing reclines against the door casing, feet crossed and arms tucked beneath one another. His fingers rub restlessly into the cotton of his dress shirt. Out the window, he spies the sun setting over the castle’s western territory. He thinks about his village sitting just beyond, feels guilt blossom in wake of his absence. Not that he could control it. He is beginning to understand Junmyeon sneaking off before.

Yixing moves to the open window across from him and peers into the courtyard, in all it’s geometric mosaic glory. There are women ambling, some tending the vegetation surrounding the castle, others carting fabric and tools from tower to tower, and more posted to various corners and archways in armor. No chance for a last minute escape I suppose. Yixing tsks at the women, guesses which ones had been frogs and which ones had been piles of mud prior to reanimation.  

In that last two and a half weeks he’s been here, he’s learned a good deal about Junmyeon’s home. A place with all the peculiarity of a centuries-old tale, and one that prides itself on juxtaposition. Yixing turns around and glances down the hallway. Flesh to grey colored stones arranged in non-uniform rows make the walls of the main castle. Complimentary to that are the torches and wood doors that creak and groan even without wind. But then polished white marble and limestone figurines, along with rich silk tapestries line each side of the walls. Yixing spies the twinkle of gems nestled in both. Just outside stand hedge mazes surrounding blue glass tiled fountains, and vines creeping in over outdoor statues.

The Elders themselves are oddities. Supposedly centuries old but resembling Amazonians in their prime, if the warriors were another four feet taller. But nothing completes the theme like the great hall, the largest and most elevated room in the castle. It overlooks the lower towers and gardens, even the forest blurred skyline before the mountain peaks. Inside sits a council of six women, past Elders who've seen generations of Guardians come and go, on floor cushions. Of all things.

Yixing chuckles nervously at the notion. He imagines maroon robes and gold trim with aged female faces beneath, all sitting criss-cross on stone floor with blue cushions beneath them. To think he’d have to stand trial in a school-house setting. Imagine Jongdae’s face when I tell him resident angel Zhang Yixing stood trial. He’d be utterly vexed he wasn’t there to witness.

Just as Yixing is considering using his inside voice, the doors behind him open. His chest throbs at Elder Sebil’s beckoning hand and dark glare.

“Your time has come, Guardian.”

The dais makes him feel exposed and vulnerable, not for the fact that he is ashamed to stand there, but because it prevents him from sitting. It is a single round slab of stone no more than sixty centimeters in diameter but almost a meter tall, and he fidgets over it in the worst of ways. He can attempt squatting and most likely be scorned for trying.

Baekhyun huffs, chafing the wrists of his energy bound hands. To his right is Junmyeon, posted to a dais much the same as his and looking equally uncomfortable in his restraints. Baekhyun feels the apprehension in his darting eyes and shifty feet.

Baekhyun glances past him, to the right wall leading to the back of the room. The other Guardian’s stand on dais’ much shorter than his, but no less on display. Minseok, as impassive as ever, stands shoulder-width apart with one hand crossed over the other. Luhan beside him sags just the slightest with his chin tucked down. His eyes are drawn, and his lower lip pokes out, but those are the only things betraying his emotions. Then there is Kyungsoo, and unlike Minseok, his expressionlessness is pointed by the rigidity in his shoulders, his back, even his legs. Zitao is the only one truly teary-faced, and the sadness is so genuine Baekhyun feels himself more moved than by his own emotions. There is magic restraining their bodies, and he knows it is his fault. Baekhyun sniffs back tears. He will not cry.

His eyes drift to the left, taking in the blue swaths and swooping silver lines of oil paintings filling every viewable surface of the room. Their six mentor Elders sit upon blue pillows above a landscape of the forest. Elder Reign and Elder Ohm are whispering to one another. Next to them is Elder Winguard, reserved and blank-faced. She’s refused to look upon Junmyeon ever since the incident. Beside her is Elder Evid, dozing off with each squint of an eye and nod of her head. Next is Elder Sebil, calculative gaze boring holes into Yixing where he kneels before the empty seats of the head council at the front of the room.

And then finally the last cushion. It is also empty, and will remain so since the Elder whose spot it belongs to is temporarily out of commission. This courtesy belongs to Baekhyun, and is the main reason for the trial today. The head council decides Baekhyun’s fate as a Guardian.

A trickling sound akin to wind rustling tree leaves fills the room. A gust whistles beneath Baekhyun’s legs and chills his skin. He breathes in the underlying scent of flint as all the sudden dark figures appear in the head council’s seats. One of the head Elders is standing. The smell of flint strengthens. Baekhyun readies himself for... well something. The last time he or any of the Guardians faced the head council was during their swearing in as babies by their Elders.

Baekhyun’s eyes fall from the hands of the standing head Elder to the line of lights floating its way to Yixing. He watches much like everyone else, entranced by the way green light seems to emerge from Yixing and mingle with it. If Yixing is surprised, he does not show it. In fact, Baekhyun can see the start of amusement creep into his lips.

In a burst, the energy disperses into a cloud of smoke. Yixing coughs through it, waving away the parts near his eyes and looking up to the head Elder still standing. It is at this moment that Baekhyun realizes that this must be the leader of the head council. The seated ones are turned in towards her.

Her arms lower, and her hands reach out to pull the hood away from her face. Baekhyun gasps, eyes widening at the sight of pale skin. White actually, just like the marble of the statues across their dwelling. Her eyes are pupiless orbs, icy and blue-tinged. Her hair is black coils brushing the bottom of her neck. And when it opens is a vast cave of darkness. No teeth to Baekhyun's utter, disgust.

“With this display, we can put to rest the matter of a new Guardian in our midst. Winguard’s accounts hold true, which means,” Her breath, for this is the only thing that Yixing can conceive to move before him, echoes while her eyes appear to fall on Junmyeon. He catches his soulmate’s gaze and feels a similar pull of anxiety. Yixing wishes to wrap him in his arms and protect him from the head Elder’s chilly glare. “Junmyeon, Guardian of the Sea, are guilty of unauthorized bonding and transformation of a mortal being.”

“By Sebil and Winguard’s combined accounts, Baekhyun, Guardian of the Sun, is hereto found guilty of complicity in this forbidden act. In addition, you are accused of misusing your powers and attacking Elder Seraph.” Luhan visibly freezes when his name is not mentioned, tilts his face up just a hair to question Baekhyun. He shakes his head at Luhan quickly, not enough for anyone attentive to notice. Baekhyun turns his gaze to Junmyeon, and said brother shrugs his shoulders, looking equally lost. How did they know about me helping Junmyeon escape and meet Yixing, but not Luhan helping us out the tower, Baekhyun thinks, why would Elder Sebil and Elder Winguard hide that from them?

The leader head Elder’s voice seems to grow, and Baekhyun is brought from his stupor. “As it stands, there are only two individuals who can verify this accusation as well as any other accomplices involved. One is currently in the healing wing recovering, and unable to speak. The other is before us now. Guardian of the Sea, you are to stand witness to this event. Are the accusations delivered by Winguard and Sebil true? Or is someone else responsible for the attack on Elder Seraph?” All eyes fall to Junmyeon. He feels his strength leave him, and blood rushes out of his head for a moment. The head Elders are asking him. They are asking him. They will take his word, at least for now. He can, well he can protect Baekhyun-

Junmyeon turns to face Baekhyun again, and deflates. There is sad resignation in his brother’s face. If Junmyeon lies, then as soon as Elder Seraph awakens, it will be apparent. He can get into more trouble. In addition, someone has to be blamed for Elder Seraph’s condition. If not Baekhyun, then it leaves Junmyeon. Her burn wounds could have never come from him. The only other person who could have been responsible is...

Junmyeon looks up, mistakenly meets Yixing’s gaze. He feels his stomach drop the moment it does. If they do not blame Baekhyun, will Yixing be held responsible? Junmyeon shakes the thought away. He can’t risk putting Yixing in danger. They wouldn’t hesitate to kill him if he does. Junmyeon sighs, considers Luhan as well. If they don’t know about him, shall he really tell them? Elder Seraph knew before, could have easily told the other Elders, but for some reason hadn’t. It should stay that way, Junmyeon thinks.

“...The accusations hold true. Baekhyun is responsible for Elder Seraph’s wounds. He was helping me when Elder Seraph found us. He attacked not out of misuse, but out of defense. He was afraid the Elders would sever our premature bond and end up harming or even...or even killing us in the process.” Beside him there is a whimper that sounds distinctly like Zitao. Junmyeon mirrors the sentiment.

“By this testimony, Baekhyun, Guardian of the Sun, you are hereto guilty of attacking your mentor. The punishment for both of your crimes, as well as the Guardian of the Sea, is silencing.” This time Zitao does burst into tears, and even Junmyeon and Baekhyun bite back their sobs.

Yixing is appalled. Was this not a trial? Where was the consideration for punishment fitting the crime? Isn’t he entitled to a jury of his peers? These thoughts circle him as he stares down the leader head Elder, her vision unnerving and unnatural.

As if provoked by this, her eyes turn back and once again fall on Yixing. “Speak you name mortal. How do they address you?” Yixing sniffs, taking in the gritty scent around him. He can’t tell if it is the stone or the woman before him that smells, but the scent soothes him. It reminds him of the village, Chanyeol’s work tools and the spark before he lights the kiln. Sadness grips him, puts perspective for his being here. He returns her gaze full on.

“Those who are friends call me Yixing, strangers call me Zhang Yixing, but the villagers call me Doctor Zhang. You may take your pick.” He hopes it to be inviting. Her expression remains simply blank, an empty canvas.

“Zhang Yixing. No longer shall your mortal days reign. From now onward, you are Yixing, Guardian of Healing and Life. You shall take upon yourself the Guardian Oath, so swearing to protect all living beings from this place and the next, giving everything of yourself to keep the world alive and well, even with the last beating of your Guardian heart.” Yixing starts as numbness overtakes his body. He watches through a haze as his legs tremble and then rise, walking to the woman’s outstretched hand. The smell of flint strengthens, almost to the point of pungency. In the deeper parts of his mind he recognizes his own will being usurped, but his mouth remains lax.

Junmyeon grinds his bottom lip between his teeth. His eyes dart between the leader head-Elder and Yixing. The magic binding his wrists and ankles warm while his mother of pearl glows in earnest, the only sign of his disobedience. He wrestles between throwing himself to the floor and remaining put. He is so afraid, so scared. There is no need to control Yixing, he does not pose a threat, unless their intention is to silence him too. Junmyeon swallows back a whine.

The woman’s icy glare falls to the palm pressed against Yixing’s forehead. Her power comes flowing out, pressing a white wind into his skin. “Swear, Guardian of Healing and Life. Swear to every creature of this world, to every creation of this earth. For the lives of others only shall you live.”

Yixing’s voice is gravel, rusty and loose as words pull from his throat. “I swear.”

Her palm rises, pulls wisps of energy from the other Guardians. Baekhyun feels himself dizzying, feels his insides twisting. His strength leaves him, the warmth from inside him imploded and empty. Where was the burn of the sun in his gut? It feels so distant from him. Fear, even if it wanted to, cannot grip him as his vision blurs. Through the fog of his mind he registers the woman’s hollow voice.

“Swear, Guardian of Healing and Life. Swear to your kindred souls to empower and strengthen them, to stand by them wherever they go, whomever the face, forever in the time you are given in this world.” Yixing registers colors, they swirl above his head, growing as the orb rotates. Even bits of the green in him gather around it. One burst of blue tries to push it out. He thinks it looks so warm, and he, he feels so cold inside. “I swear.”

The energy continues to swirl together, but lines are pinching into the center. He watches the orb separate, each smaller orb gravitating back to a new owner. Yixing stars down the one before him. It’s green, more green than any of the other ones, his green. Yixing’s loose lips upturn. He yearns to reach out and pull the orb into his chest. He can’t move his arms.

“For this is your duty. Your purpose. May this Oath stand testament. Embrace the bond. Embrace the responsibility. Embrace the souls, forever entwined.” The room seems to cool. Yixing doesn’t just feel cold inside, but out as well. He’s detached from the goosebumps littering his arms. Even his breaths are icy.

“This is my duty. This is my purpose. I embrace the bond. I embrace the responsibilities. I embrace the-” Shatters. Blue, green, pink, silver, orange, purple, pearl. Ice. Shards. Blood seeping over his eyebrow. Sharp ringing and sound swelling into-

Yixing gasps and falls to the ground, one knock for each knee into the stone floor. Then his palms scraping over the surface. He’s huffing air, blinking away tears and struggling to separate the collective whispers. Whispers? Yixing turns his head to the left. Green tree tops turn into tall women with long robes. There are young people kneeling on pedestals, rods of light wrapped around them. One man is being pulled down, he looks familiar. Familiar and angry. He’s glaring right at Yixing.

“Yixing!” Junmyeon? Yixing shifts his gaze to the left, squints: blond hair, oval face, pouty lower lip, peachy skin. Junmyeon, Yixing confirms. He flinches at the dull ache in his head, wonders why he is on the floor. Yixing pushes himself up. There’s arguing going on, shouting.

“This! It is exactly this type of insolence that has caused our charges to fall wayward from the path! You speak of propriety, of justice and honor. What honor is there in this kind of behavior? You dared speak of my Guardian, had plenty to suggest when discussing a silencing, yet let yours do whatever pleases him!”

“I may not have condoned the interference but that does not mean it was unjustified. Have we no shame? Simply accept a mere mortal? A human from a dinghy village in the middle of the woods? Elder Seraph would share my sentiment that no human dare be worthy enough to be a Guardian. We know nothing of his character, not of his ethics or his intelligence, not of his aptitude or his will. How can you swear in some random man because this naive child fancied him?”

Yixing feels hotness curl in his gut, annoyance color his cheeks. He recognizes both the voices and the woman before him to be the Elders. It seems Sebil and Winguard are continuing a spat from before the trial. Yixing watches the tiniest pinch of a self-satisfied smirk work its way over Minseok’s face. Perhaps it would have been funny if Yixing didn’t feel so nauseous and angry.

“This isn’t about shame! This hearing is about three things, and three things only.” Winguard swings her arm to point at Junmyeon. “This one found a lost Guardian and illegally initiated rituals that awakened powers within him.” The hand shifts again to point at Yixing. “And this one came into powers whether you agree with it or not. That makes him a Guardian.” Again her arm swings to land on Baekhyun. “This one plotted with Junmyeon and attacked an Elder, putting her in critical condition. We are having a breakdown in order and your only concern is over the acceptance of a stupid human?” Her anger froths deep within her eyes.

Sebil frowns back. “My ways are based on generations of practice. I cannot speak as each one brings different Guardians, but they were all chosen. Not a human fancied at the first sign of-”

“Chosen is such an idealistic word to describe what was essentially kidnapping. They might as well be slaves for all your-”

“Silence yourself Evid. You were less vexing in slumber.”

“Let her speak Sebil! You seem to like people doing whatever the hell they want. Why should anyone follow the rules anymore? Our Guardians don’t, you don’t as a matter of fact-”

“It is precisely these rules Winguard that would have prevented a damn human from getting-”

“Forget about the gods damned human! You interrupted a sacred ceremony out of spite for-” The talking stops as abruptly as it started. Even the ability to form words seems silenced. Baekhyun feels the sudden emptiness of sound in his bones. Elder Ohm is standing between them, Elder Winguard and Elder Sebil. She gives them pointed stares before training foam green eyes onto a head Elder from the council. Both Elders pale and immediately fall to the floor in contrition.

Baekhyun sees that it’s a different woman standing with the leader. The same icy-blue eyes, same white skin and black coiled hair, but an amulet rests on her chest, empty of the jewel that sits in its metal shell. Instead the jewel rests in her forehead. It’s glowing.

“Guardian of Ice and Cold. Step before me.” She commands. Minseok’s expression is neutral despite facing the greatest warrior of all the Elders. Minseok would be concerned if he wasn’t bitter to lose two brothers tonight. The warrior head-Elder doesn’t appear angry, but then again there doesn’t appear to be emotion within her. There is no intonation in her speaking, no betrayal of body language. She’s like air, nothing and everything.

Minseok keeps his head down as he approaches. He calls upon every battle Elder Sebil’s ever put him through to remain calm, to remain in control. He acted on impulse, a discomforted and itchy impulse at the unfamiliar energy mixing with his. It was strange, it was wrong, it did not belong with his. He doesn’t know if the ice did it or if he did, but something exploded. Snatched those final words from Yixing’s lips before the bond could be complete. He is paying the price for it.

His eyes meet with the warrior head Elder. He can’t see it, but he senses it from her as if the feeling were his own. Disappointment. “Souls cannot bind when one is in discord. Guardian, why do you reject your own?”

Minseok juts his chin out in Yixing’s direction. “He is not mine. He is not any of ours. He is a human and therefore does not belong. I cannot accept him.” Behind him he hears someone gasp. It might be Zitao, he tends to be the most dramatic. But the pitch of the voice sounds close to Junmyeon’s. Minseok grits his teeth but does not show it.

“You do not believe he is a Guardian,” the warrior head-Elder states, “you see him as unworthy.” Minseok grits his teeth harder. “I share in my Elder’s sentiments. Junmyeon was enticed by kind words, led to regrettable decisions and mistakes. We should not reward someone we know nothing about with unparalleled power such as this.” Or punish my innocent brothers while letting the bastard run free, Minseok thinks.

“I don’t believe this.” All eyes turn to Junmyeon. He is no longer on the dias, but standing in front of it. His expression is hard. He stares at Minseok with unforgiving fury. “Of all the people I expected this from, least of all was you Minseok. Enticed? Really? It’s not hard to find basic decency enticing when you see the way we’re treated.” Junmyeon sneers, tears starting to form and drip down his cheeks.

Yixing feels the pain radiating off him, is hit with such a need for tender comforting. Yixing catches Minseok’s gaze. It’s no longer blank, it’s tense and angry. Yixing has half a mind to glare back, but he doesn’t. Provoking an animal is not the way to its heart. And if he is to be stuck with him, he has to earn Minseok’s approval. “If I may speak,” Yixing steps forward of his own volition. He feels unbalanced still, but the control is filtering back in. He waits for one of the two standing head-Elder’s to give him permission.

“Go on.” The one with the amulet says.

Yixing takes a deep breath. “You had me swearing to an oath without my permission, or any regards to my ability to fill it. I was a physician before I was a Guardian. My duties reside with the people in that village you call dinghy. I cannot simply pack up and leave to train for...whatever it is you are training for.” Yixing catches Junmyeon’s gaze. He stares back at Yixing, a mixture of sadness and disappointment behind the blond strands.

“And yet there is reluctance in your heart.” The warrior head-Elder counters.

Yixing nods. “I am not so naive as to ignore the power you have. I cannot simply walk away from all of this. I have powers, unaware of them yes, but they are there. Dangerous if misused. I also know that whether any of us like it or not, this place is where I belong, with these people, with Junmyeon. I don’t think any momentary fancy could explain that.” Yixing smiles at Junmyeon, his warmth a gentle reassurance. He is returned with a teary one but smiles more all the same.

“He’s reasonable, I like this one very much.”

“Hush Evid. Let the boy finish” Yixing throws a grateful smile over his shoulder at Elder Reign. She nods to him in return. Yixing redoubles his efforts in earnest.

“Even more so, my dearest friend is upstairs recovering, at the mercy of your healers and even he must return to the village soon. This whole ordeal has caused everyone a lot of pain. There must be some way to reach compromise. Can I not give back my powers, prevent Baekhyun and Junmyeon’s silencing, keep my relationship with my soulmate, and remain a physician in the village?” Yixing hears a scoff beside him, knows that it most likely came from Minseok but decides to ignore it. His pleading is directed only to the woman with the jewel on her head. She then turns to the leader head-Elder. The woman who stole Yixing’s will so easily, the one that must hold his fate.

And she is silent. For a moment the only sound ading the room is the gentle waves of breath passing people’s mouths. Then the smell of flint spikes and the other ones murmur behind her. Yixing doesn’t hear words immediately. The head Elder with the amulet sits, pulling her hood over her head. Yixing makes out sounds akin to cadences or drums before words overtake them.

“The Guardian of Ice believes him unworthy.”

“The Guardian of Healing and Life is reluctant.”

“The Elders feel disrespected.”

“The Guardian of the Sea disobeys”

“The Guardian of the Sun misuses his powers.” The room quiets once again, and this time the leader head-Elder speaks. “Even the gods play into the hands of fate. And so fate shall be the answer. A test for one Guardian, a choice for another.”

“A test for?” Yixing questions.

The head-Elder turns away, retreats back to her cushion and pulls her hood on. , though closed, carries words into the air. There is resignation in the wind. “Souls cannot bind when one is in discord. An eternal flame once awakened cannot be doused, only controlled. Misdeeds cannot go unpunished,” Baekhyun tenses, Junmyeon pinches his sides, “A test of fate shall decide all. Souls entwined can never unravel, no matter how the ties are prodded. When the moment comes, Elder Seraph will awaken. If the man Zhang Yixing is not accepted by the Guardian of the Ice, he was never meant to be, and never will be. The Guardian of the Sea and the Guardian of the Sun will then pay for their misuse of powers with their souls, and the true vessel of the Guardian of Healing will be searched for once again.”

Before any protest can be uttered, before the weight of her words can sink into their audience, they vanish the same way they came. All six pale and inhuman beings gone with the scent of flint in their wake. A tense moment passes before an outcry bellows. Junmyeon falls to his knees. “No!”

Minseok strolls a swirling path in the hedge maze garden. His mind mulls over the council meeting and his new found responsibility. He didn’t stick around for the aftermath of arguing and blame. Instead he sought solitude for space to think, away from anyone’s feelings of animosity or betrayal.

And for a time he feels himself understand the head Elder’s decision. Many of the things they do are based not on a rule book, or a code of law - contrary to the Elder’s beliefs - but rather on the chance of it all. They believe that things will happen however, and whatever way the shall. But will they?

Minseok doesn’t believe in fate. Fate is cruel, unjust. Fate changes her fancy from one direction to another with no preamble. Fate does not make the people. The people make fate. His soul, destined to accept some random person, who weaseled his way into their lives and turned everything upside down? Mindless and illogical.

There was no honor or duty or justice involved in that man's transformation and bonding ritual with his brother. It was not fate. It was an accident. Why then, should he bear the weight of condemning his brothers, the people he’s loved and cherished all his life, sworn to love and protect, to shacklement in a jar, their bodies husks for someone else's control? Because that is the unavoidable end. Minseok knows deep within his chest that he could never trust Yixing, not for what he did to his brother Junmyeon, and not for what he made Baekhyun do just to save him. Just the thought of somehow coming to love him like his own curls disgust, thick and syrupy, in his gut.

Adding to the impossibility of the task, is the time period to do it. Elder Seraph may be heavily sedated by healing magic, but that could stop at a moments notice. The severity of her wounds are known only to her, it could be anyone’s guess when she deems herself ready. And there will be hell to pay once she does awaken.

Minseok sighs, stops and fingers a shrub beside him. He picks out a rough leaf on a branch and rubs it between his thumb and index finger. It's the tiniest little pull, but it’s there. Just a second of that man’s energy in him leaves his soul unstable. He’s feeling pity for dried out tree branches, as if that is supposed to be his norm.

He is Guardian of Ice, of chill, life is absent where he grasps. The energy, the heat, the life of this thing in his fingers is supposed to be absorbed by him, the way wind up a fire. It’s not soothing or calming to have the green energy in him, and this is only a touch. Imagine how unbalanced he would be if Yixing was fully bound to him? He would be a chaotic mess. And Minseok doesn’t need chaos.

Just as he is considering freezing the leaf into an icicle - the very lowest amount of spite he will allow himself - Luhan snatches at his arm and whirls him around. His frown resembles a snarl, nothing Minseok has ever seen from his composed brother.

Luhan cannot bear to withhold himself. What was a terrible situation is made even worse for reasons unknown and baffling to him. “What in all of the Gods be damned living is wrong with you!”

Minseok huffs, no more than a cool indifference in the response. “Luhan- ” He attempts.

“Do not ‘Luhan’ me! The only reason I am here is to make sure two things happen. The first, an apology to Junmyeon for rejecting his soulmate on an absolutely baseless prejudice, and the other a guarantee that you fix whatever is wrong with you and accept Yixing.” Luhan huffs. He crosses his arms, eyes boring in a gesture of impatient tolerance.

Minseok sighs. “Then you will be very disappointed.” Minseok starts to turn away but is snatched once again. He feels agitation stir, then clamps down on it.

“How could you be so selfish! So conceited! All you had to do was just accept him and we-”

“You’re asking me to accept the man who put my Junmyeon and Baekhyun in trouble in the first place. How can you be so neglectful as to forget how this all started?” Minseok calmly counters.

Luhan becomes even more haggled, grabbing and yanking at the strands of auburn falling into his eyes. “How this all started? Are you blind, deaf, and ing mad! Did you just take all of your accounts from Elder Sebil? Did you even ask Baekhyun, Junmyeon or even me what exactly happened? Or did you just quietly assess everything for yourself and pass some ill idea of what you consider fair judgment” Luhan tries to compose himself. Blinks away tears that fill his eyes.

“Luhan, you need to calm down, think rationally. Junmyeon has always been a good kid. Always. Nothing has ever pushed him into disobedience. When he was lost, he would have come back right away if something had not kept him, lured him. That man had something to do with it. Be it lies or pretty trinkets or what. He saw what Junmyeon could do, and tricked him into sharing that power.”

Minseok’s response does not calm Luhan, only riles him further. “You were not there Minseok! You did not see what Elder Seraph did to him, what she kept doing to him all that week. If you only saw the way she whipped him, heard the cracks of each lash on his peeling skin... you don’t know anything about Junmyeon’s reasons. Just because you can tolerate abuse every day doesn’t mean the rest of us can nor want to.” Luhan sniffles, itches to reach out and be comforted, but he’s just so upset. It amazes him even now that the brother he looks up to so much can be this cruel. What has Elder Sebil done to him?

Minseok feels pity well within him, he recognizes that look. But Luhan is closed off, unaccepting of his embrace. Minseok only shakes his head. “Luhan I cannot promise what is not possible. It is a problem inside me, not a matter of choice. Do you really think I’d choose Junmyeon and Baekhyun’s silencing over pride against a stupid human? I want to accept him more than anything. I physically cannot. This deal is a useless trial of an imaginary force.”

To Luhan, Minseok does appear sad, does appear regretful, as much as he can without the use of facial expression. Luhan’s lips tremble, and with a sob he falls into Minseok’s arms. Cries himself apart beneath the shadow of the hedges. For the brothers he will lose, for the punishments to come from the Elders, for the uselessness he feels.

Yixing runs a gentle finger down Chanyeol’s cheek. There used to be a scar there from tripping over his workbench and falling on an ember in his forge. It is strangely absent, and comfortingly smooth to Yixing’s fingers.

“He was such a good-looking young man. It seemed silly to leave ugly marks.” Yixing looks up from his bedside chair to a woman in the doorframe. He relaxes, used to the sight of messy of blonde curls and dark brown skin. He’s seen them as often as his visits to the medical wing in the couple weeks he’s been here. Elder Reign is one of the kinder, not to mention softer looking Elders. He chuckles, poking against the fat of his friend’s cheek. “I am sure when he awakens he will greatly appreciate it. But I am also afraid that with his bouts of clumsiness, he might just undo all of your hard work.”

Elder Reign takes a seat on the opposite side of the cotton bed. Her hands warm and color a soft green as she evaluates Chanyeol’s condition. Yixing sits silently in wonder as Chanyeol’s healthy color turns translucent. Then the color returns to him. “Then you can fix it for him. The growth lines for skin of the face make a nice little template to follow. With your talent, I imagine it’d take little magic for you to mend new skin over it. And from what Sebil tells me, you are unusually talented.”

There’s excitement in her eyes, out of kinship with a fellow healer or a new test subject, Yixing is unsure. One never could tell with the Elders. “So I’ve been told. I’m afraid I find it hard to believe the words of a woman who takes such displeasure in me.” Yixing’s fingers drift over Chanyeol’s bare chest, pressing just below his ribs, skimming over his sides, down into his lower belly.

Elder Reign recognizes the motions and grins. “When you become proficient with your powers, you will be able to assess a person’s health by a simple glance. For now I can only assure you by word that he is healthy. Healing magic varies in type and style. But at its root, it is elementary. Speed up the bodies natural healing ability and hold everything together until it is complete.”

Yixing feels puffiness over the swollen areas where Chanyeol’s gashes were. He detects a hotness along his skin signifying fever. Openings for the infected regions drain pus. All typical and normal processes for a body recovering from trauma. And yet, Chanyeol is calm, resting comfortably in white drawstring trousers. One look would make one think he is only sleeping. “He feels nothing.” Yixing states.

Elder Reign nods. “Taking away the perception of pain is as simple as a finger curl.”

Revolutionary, Yixing muses, truly revolutionary. “Would I be able to use my abilities for the people in the village? I might never have to worry about another case of typhus or pneumonia again.” Yixing tries not to appear hopeful even with Elder Reign’s noticeable silence. He perchances a glance, meets her considering gaze.

“About that, the other Elder’s and I have decided to allow you to continue your practice in the village, with your abilities.” Yixing’s body relaxes into relief. “It provides a way for you to practice, while also fulfilling your role, Guardian in name or not. You are their only means for survival, even the time you’ve been here could have contributed to someone’s death, and it is your responsibility to protect all life. Even the ones some of us may not value.” It was a small slight, but a noticeable one towards Elder Sebil.

“I imagine the freedom comes at a price?”

Elder Reign smiles at him, nods her head. “You are to come here on Saturdays for training once you’ve gotten resettled. One day a week is sufficient for the skills you will be learning. You’re not fully a Guardian, and therefore undeserving of full combat and defense training. Sebil prefers you to see only what is necessary of our lives and dwelling here in the mountains.”

Yixing nods. Considering all that he has seen, he’s not sure if he truly wants to know what goes on. It mounts his concern for Junmyeon every day. “And I am to keep my weekly disappearances a secret from the village. No one else can know about this.”

Elder Reign nods again. Inside a pocket of her green cloak, she pulls out a handkerchief to wipe her forehead. “Even if you did, the enchantment around the area shields us. You’d be pegged a liar or a madman. But yes, Elder Sebil demands your silence. Your life will be made easier because of it. Try to start with a reasonable cover story. Minseok should be able to help you with that.”

Yixing visibly flinches at the mention of his name. His eyes are disbelieving, while his body sags with reluctance. “Minseok?”

Elder Reign’s eyes pinch in sympathy. “In addition to your weekly practices, we’ve all agreed that the words of the council leader should be taken seriously. Minseok must come to know you, who you are and what you believe, to truly accept or reject you. There is no better, or other for that matter, way to do that without spending time together. Elder Ohm thought it appropriate Minseok be sent away to your home with you. He’s the leader of the Guardian’s after all. He must know more of this world than what is within these castle walls.”

“But I have only until Elder Seraph awakens? Is there really enough time? I’ve met people less prejudiced than him who are even more obstinate to change. Once held, beliefs are not easy to let go of.”

Elder Reign hums. As she stands she reaches for a jar on the shelf. When she opens the lid, there is thick smoke billowing out. He can feel the chill of it even as far away as it is. “Elder Sebil’s prejudices are simply constructed. Haughtiness and superiority work to that end. Minseok’s issue is not superficial, but rather deep-rooted and internal. It breeds not by belief, but by self-preservation.”

Yixing is rightfully puzzled, and also very cold. He rubs his arms through the fabric of his work shirt to try and quell the goosebumps there. “Self-preservation? Whatever do you mean?”

Elder Reign winks, putting the cork back on and placing it on the top shelf. “That is for you to figure out with the time you share. For now, you must prepare. You will leave tomorrow before dawn. Time is precious, and you already have so little of it. I will do what I can to give you as much as possible.”

Yixing stands, grabs the trench coat he’d lain on the back of the chair and wrapped it over his forearm. “And what exactly do you mean by ‘giving me more time’?”

Elder Reign smirks. “Second only to the healer on the Head Council, you are before the most skilled being in healing magic there is. I can prevent or prolong damage as much as I wish.” Yixing makes an ‘oh’ sound. “While I can’t put her magic on hold - her own enchantments will act to protect her - I can implement setbacks that will delay her full healing. That will extend whatever time you have with Minseok, and in turn prevent Junmyeon’s silencing.”

Yixing bites his lip, just the mention of it looms heavy over his heart. “Thank you. I don’t know what motivates you to be so kind, but I am grateful for it.”

Elder Reign shows him out of the room, squeezing gently at his shoulders as she releases him. “Don’t thank me yet. You’ve got plenty ahead of you. The quicker you can win that icicle over the better for us all.”

Minseok is unimpressed.

With the way Junmyeon and Yixing had talked about the village last night over dinner, one would have thought the doctor lived in a utopia.

This place is cramped, crowded, dirty, and odorous. People wear ridiculously itchy attire that clings sweat-ladened upon their skin. The constant chattering and clamoring of these things called wagons rumble in Minseok’s ear. Least of all that pleases him in this infernal village, is the death trap Yixing calls an automobile. It is even louder and more menacing than the animals pulling carts, shakes as if it will fall to pieces any second, and jerks him back and forth every time Yixing stops to talk to some other distraught villager calling out for “Doctor Zhang!”

It is the only thing he can understand as they more or less parade through the town, and yet that title wore off within the first two times it was uttered. Now at thirty, he only wishes to reach the man’s place of dwelling so he might escape these heavy clothes and the unyielding summer heat. He’s forbidden from using his powers outside the castle - something to do with maintaining pseudo appearances - which puts him into an even more vexed mood.

“Doctor Zhang, there’s a man in your automobile?” She’s a middle-aged farmer of some sort, and not the first to point that detail out. The women that tend the gardens at the castle have the same sun-burned, sweat , and tired faces as her. Her shrewdness makes her more irritable than the servants.

“Yes, a villager that found Chanyeol and me when we were injured and helped us. He’s mute, but the only guide for when I return for Chanyeol. Don’t mind him.” And the bored expressions cross their faces once again.

Every time Yixing stops he is forced to recount the same made up story. Injured and lost with Chanyeol in the woods, rescued by members from a hidden reclusive village, returning home with the aid of one “mute villager” so he can retrieve his tools and heal Chanyeol properly - who had injuries too serious to be moved. Over and over again this story, sometimes being interrupted in the middle to start over, sometimes jumping ahead to point an accusatory finger at Minseok in question. And always Yixing responding in that same dismissive tone. “He’s mute. Don’t mind him. ” Minseok wonders if frostbite on their feet will make them mind him. Minseok sighs.

The current group around them backs away as Yixing holds up placating hands. “As much as I would love to stay and talk with everyone, I must return to my home. I need to-” Minseok watches those hands slowly fall, silence overtaking the man’s lips as someone tall seems to part the crowd. He’s marching toward Yixing with determination in his scowl. Minseok examines him. Long, lithe, short-torso but toned across the chest and back, noticeably large hands. They nearly engulf Yixing’s face when the man yanks him into an embrace and holds his head.

“I thought you’d died. Gods I thought you were dead. How could you worry me like that.” For such an intimidating man, he trembles as if Yixing is the only thing holding him together. His face is angry-looking, thick slanted brows dwarfing almond eyes, a bulbous nose topping pillowy blush lips. And it’s even more unattractive with tears running all over it. Minseok cringes when Yixing pulls away to rub the man’s eyes and push back his ruffled brown hair. Like coddling an overgrown baby.

Their party of two becomes a party of three as the man rides back with them. Yixing and he talk about a multitude of things, not that Minseok can discern one conversation from another, but he can tell the nature of their relationship from their gestures. The gentle hand rubbing a back, the reassuring squeeze of a wrist, the petting of a head, or patting of a knee. These two were dear friends, if not brothers. Minseok’s even manages to glean a name from it all. Yifan.

“Sehun and Jongin will be inconsolable once they catch word of you. You should have come to me at once. My father will be relieved to hear you’ve been found, now we can call back the search parties.” Yifan says, rubs a hand over the skin of his chin while he examines Minseok.

They are entering the house now. Yixing directs Yifan to sit at his dining table while he moves to his examination table. There’s an alcove at the back of his house that holds his operating tools and supplies for making medicine. Even after Minseok is guided to Yixing’s spare bed and sat there, Yifan continues to stare. It seems that Yixing’s standard explanation for his presence doesn’t sit well with his dearest friend. Not that Minseok quite cares. He stares back at him, face equally considerate and discerning.

Yixing walks up dragging a black case to sit beside Yifan at his table. He sets his work bag on the top and begins to organize its contents. “I will pay my visit to the governor in time. I wish to get myself settled here first, then attend to all the patients I’d more or less abandoned before making any personal trips. I’ll likely meet them similar to meeting you anyway.”

Yifan sighs, blinks a few more times at Minseok, then turns fully to Yixing. “While I don’t doubt that, I think everyone would be put at ease just to see you personally. Especially Jongdae. He was the sourest of all.”

“You’re damn right I was.” Minseok is startled by the loud clamor of a man emerging from the window, of all things. Minseok’s eyes widen at the flocks of brown hair swept up and over a wide forehead. A rectangular face punctuated by fox-like features and a mischievous grin, one that directs at Yixing as the man stalks up to him. They embrace and part to stare at one another before embracing again. “I could kill you if I didn’t miss you so much. Where is Chanyeol?”

Minseok’s face twitches. That is the favored question, isn’t it? That question has been asked by many people today. Yixing may not look conflicted, but Minseok knows how to read people. There’s the slightest furrowing of his brow, two blinks of his eye while he smiles - an action meant to convey quiet observation or consideration, not hesitation. “Chanyeol is-”

The words aren’t even out of his mouth before Jongdae is scowling. “If you think I’m going to believe that bull story you’ve told to everyone else... I listen to liars everyday Xing, I know it when I hear it.” Yixing does hesitate. He looks to Yifan, a neutral expression neither betraying nor confirming Jongdae’s words. And turns at the feeling of something sharp on his back. His eyes meet Minseok’s icy ones. They battle between each other’s gaze.

Minseok watches as the reluctance turns to resignation. And with lowering of his own gaze he turns away to face the wood walls of Yixing’s home.

What used to be general awkwardness became sharper, tighter, a line drawn that Yixing knows is because of him. This trip is supposed to be about earning Minseok’s acceptance. So far Yixing is missing his mark. He sags, trains his despondency onto Jongdae. Strangely enough, he’s looking at Minseok. Yixing recognizes that gaze. It’s the same face he gets when a person takes the stand, wicked and menacing and ominous.

“Jongdae,” it takes a moment to get his attention, “and Yifan as well, this... no one can know what I am about to tell you. I’m not sure that you will believe it but, try to.” Jongdae and Yixing make their way over to the wicker table, Yifan has made space. Yixing gives one last look to Minseok’s back, before returning his gaze to his friends. Yifan and Jongdae are both reserved.

“Six months ago, Chanyeol and I happened upon a being unlike anything ever known in this world. And in our time together, I had found that this being and I had a lot more in common than I could have ever realized.”

End Part 1

Author's Note

So much for not taking forever to upload. I've literally had this sitting for so long, but I didn't want to post it because I am still finishing writing part 2. I am like so sleepy right now, I honestly wish I had more witty and intriguing thoughts for this A/N.

This child decided she would do two parts. This one in only like 8000 words which I consider an improvement. The second part will definitely be longer though, like close to 10000 if not more. And more plotline/set up falling into place as well as a much better explanation about the Elder's and how everything came to be. Hopefully, it will be interesting. My goal is to get the next part written and uploaded by the weekend after valentines day.

In any case, I am exhausted and ready for bed. Peace, and don't forget to leave any comments or concerns. I love feedback.

Authornim Out!